The World Building of Lierne Er
Lierne Er, where everyone wants to be a Learner or at least live like one.
The human-inhabited worlds of the Theda galaxy are called Er and each has a cultural system that embraces a CliftonStrengths theme.
Read about the origin of the idea, here.
If you haven’t had a chance to read the story yet, start here.
Lierne Er, the bright green planet on the far right, is a planet where Learners are valued so highly, they make more of them.
People exceptionally talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. The process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them. — CliftonStrengths
There are more Learner countries in our world than any other theme, mostly concentrated in Europe, South, and Central America. And every country in my spreadsheet, except Korea, has Learner in their top five.
There is a European municipality, Lierne, in Norway.
Why is Learner so prominent in Europe?
Lierne Er is a multi-ethnic world established eons ago by Travelers and a group of oppressed Learners from Relat Er. It is a semi-inclusive colony of migrants and misfits, but there are strict rules of citizenship based on genetic composition—assuming you can determine strengths themes within the genetic code. This is science fiction, you know.
Those who have the Learner theme in their top five automatically become full citizens with rights to a subsidized life within Lierne City. Those who do not have Learner in their top five can opt to purchase treatments to epigenetically “bubble up” the Learner theme into their top five.
Epigenetic treatments? I got the idea from the StrengthsFinders report graphic.
It looks like DNA, doesn’t it?
Each epigenetic treatment causes the targeted Learner strand to trade places with the strand to its immediate left, one at a time until it reaches the top five. Once there, the individual’s personality changes so that the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.
My Learner is at position #9, which means I would need four treatments. At one every six months, it would take two years to earn access to full citizenship. That’s worth it. What would I do in the meantime? Work. Those treatments are not cheap, you know.
Would you change your strengths themes if you could?
If you don’t live in Lierne City, you live in the slums on a mountain overlooking the city. Your ultimate hope is always in sight and so close, it makes no sense to allocate energy to improve the shanties. They crumble around you as you work as many hours as you can to purchase treatments for yourself and/or your children. You are a minimum wage day worker, cleaning, cooking, caring for children—whatever keeps Lierne City running.
I imagine the Lierne City executive board meetings where they casually discuss wage amounts that will maintain the delicate balance of hope and despair while simultaneously providing the services that the city desperately needs.
Do you know anyone who took a minimum wage job so their children could have a better future?
Even though I am not a Learner, something inside of me sparks when I see a child who loves to learn. My autistic grandson has captured my heart with his remarkable talent for learning. He taught himself how to read before he was 3, and at 6, reads proficiently at a fifth-grade level. I pray his school system will acknowledge and reward his love of learning.
Will you pray with me?
